At My Chef, we’re committed to sourcing local produce wherever possible. As well as guaranteeing fresh, quality ingredients, it means we’re able to reduce carbon emissions made during the transportation of goods. Today, we’re excited to announce changes to our packaging which means you can scan a QR code and learn about our local veggie, meat, pasta and cheese producers.
When shopping in a supermarket or eating at a restaurant, do you stop to think about where your food comes from? Sadly, many ingredients are grown in one country, packaged in another, and shipped off to a supermarket in another location altogether.
Before reaching your plate, produce can go through any or all of these stages:
Each step increases carbon emissions. Depending on whether it's an animal or plant product, these stages will vary, however, the Visual Capitalist states that worldwide there are approximately 13.7 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) emitted through the food supply chain per year. That’s a lot of greenhouse gas! So, how can we help?
The Riverina Food Bowl got its name for a reason. From Coolamon Cheese Co. to Zecca Handmade Pasta, Wollundry Olive Grove to Wolki Farm, our suppliers are locals and share our sustainability practices; we support low food miles and regenerative farming wherever possible. Ingredients are collected by us straight from the local farm, then cooked in-house and delivered directly to our stockists (soon, directly to your door!) Our goal is for our growing, prep and packaging to happen within a one-hour radius of the My Chef kitchen!
Of course, there are occasions when we can’t source locally. In these cases, we make sure the further-afield companies have strong sustainability practices in place. In supporting their business, we’re continuing the collective mission to save the planet.
If you’d like to make a positive change, here are some ideas to get started:
QR codes have become a way of us ordering meals, checking in to venues and now… learning where your food comes from! We’ve partnered with Rfider — a globally leading New Zealand-based supply chain traceability software — to add QR codes to our meal sleeves. As well as tracing ingredients back to their Riverina origins, you’ll also be able to ask us questions and access farm stories, exclusive prizes and health tips — right from the palm of your hand! With ‘transparency’ a key value at My Chef, our new packaging will take you on a journey to get to know the people and journey behind your sustainably-sourced dinner.
It’s early days for this kind of tech at My Chef HQ, so if you’ve got a suggestion of what you’d like to learn from our packaging, get in touch at hello@mychefcuisine.com.au.d6nu7ydmok-xoy4w0yg73pw.p.temp-site.link
